


Don't Fear The Reaper

by messyfanworks



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Blood, Fighting, Gen, Gore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Vomiting, accidental friend, apocalypse au, implied egobang, will i continue this? we might never know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-24 11:07:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8369896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/messyfanworks/pseuds/messyfanworks
Summary: In this new world, you can't get lost in thoughts or feelings. If you get distracted or let your guard down, for even one second, you die. Painfully. You get ripped apart and eaten by the biters. Simple as that. This new, scary world. This world where you have to kill your friends to survive. This cruel world where strangers would die in front of your own two eyes. This dystopian, abandoned world where dead people wander the streets, searching for their next meal.





	1. Re-define Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Thank you so much for checking out my fic! I am so excited about this! It's going to be my first over multi-chapter fic, and I've been planning this one for a while now.  
> I was inspired by iamavacado's fic "nowhere", which you should most definetely check out!  
> I've been listening to this playlist (spotify:user:llama_nuggets:playlist:05pEQTCKxyqri1erQhnE5F) (just copy and paste it into your search bar) and I highly reccomend you do too!  
> This fic is named after Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", and each chapter will be named after a lyric from the playlist!  
> I hope you enjoy this! :DD

Arin had exactly three things to get him through it all.

A notebook, a small first aid kit, and a fire axe.

If he was completely honest with himself, he was lucky to have even those few belongings. It had been hell trying to get even the essentials. Alarms had been blaring, resonating against the tall buildings. There was a lot of shouting outside, the occasional scream of a distressed child. Arin could hear people's heavy footsteps from outside his apartment door. The army had been evacuating whoever they could, trying to make sure there were survivors.

He'd quickly picked up the first aid kit when everything had started. He needed to get out the centre of the city as fast as he could, since the army had left anyone who hadn't answered their door straight away. He picked up the notebook in some sort of blind panic, wondering if it would be one of the few things to keep him sane in this new world.

This new, scary world. This world where you have to kill your friends to survive. This cruel world where strangers would die in front of your own two eyes. This dystopian, abandoned world where dead people wander the streets, searching for their next meal.

Arin could only hope that the army picked up Suzy from work and took her somewhere safe. He missed her so much.

The fire axe was a lucky find, really. Arin had gone into this empty building where he hoped to find some snacks in the kitchen or something. He didn't find any snacks, but he had the good fortune to find the axe, shielded by a thin plate of glass. Arin was surprised somebody hadn't taken it yet. Almost everything was gone these days.

The entire building was a beehive; small cubicles set out, where once people sat down in front of computers and slaved away from nine to five for a low pay. How pointless it seems now. To work and live like that. Now Arin thought about it, everything people did was pointless. It's more than likely everyone that worked in that building, along with their entire family, was dead.

But that was in the past. Arin needed to focus on the present. In this new world, you can't get lost in thoughts or feelings. If you get distracted or let your guard down, for even one second, you die. Painfully. You get ripped apart and eaten by the biters. Simple as that.

So Arin looked around.

He seemed to be in yet another abandoned town, litter rolling about the roads in the bitter wind. Houses with shattered windows kept him trapped on one route, slowly snaking round to new streets where new threats lay. Some of the walls had desperate messages written on them, perhaps to people who never even saw them.

He briefly thought about how things turned out for them families, before quickly thrusting it from his mind. It didn't matter anymore.

He had the good sense to walk in the middle of the road, in case any of the biters jumped out at him from a dark alleyway. He had seen that happen once before. He'd been keeping an eye on this blonde women, to see if he could team up with her. He'd been followin her through the streets to see if she was strong. She couldn't have been older than twenty-five when she was pulled into the shadows, screaming, her blood smudged on the concrete slabs. After that, Arin had stayed clear of walking on side-walks altogether, scared that the next blood spilled on the side-walk would be his.

Swinging his axe lazily at his side, he tried finding some beauty in the horrific world around him. Weeds have pulled themselves up through cracks in the road, re-claiming space that was once theirs.They weren't at all pretty plants, just ugly dandelions that nobody cared about anymore. Ivy climbed up the walls people once lived behind, rooting themselves into the brickwork. The sun was setting now, the sky slowly turning a pale yellow. He'd have to get inside soon. Biters hunted at night.

The sky was one of calmest things in the hectic path that layed before Arin. The sky was always changing. Sometimes the sky would be a blood red, or a bright pink or a deep purple. It was funny, really. Now the world had ended, you'd expect everything to stop and die off. But plants continued growing and the sky continued to change colours and switch from vibrant days to starry nights. Arin liked to think that the world hadn't ended, just the human race.

A nearby scream caught Arin by surprise, his heart thumping in his chest. He instinctively lifted his axe from his side, raised above his head, locked into a fighting stance. He intended to use it if he had to.

"PLEASE, HELP ME! IS ANYBODY EVEN OUT THERE? PLEASE, HELP ME!" A frantic voice screamed; the voice had come from the left.

His instincts were shoved into over drive, his instincts demanding he survived, that he saved the man screaming for help. He sprinted to the source of distress, his feet hardly touching the floor when he turned the corner and surveyed the scene that layed before him.

A man sat helplessly on the sidewalk, blood dripping from his leg as he desperately tried to load an impressive crossbow, while a biter dragged it's heavy feet towards him. Foaming at the mouth, growling deep in it's throat, sure that it's next meal sat before it. It's unnautral, sharp teeth bared in hunger, it's claws grabbing at the air. It was disgusting. Arin wasn't going to let that fucker touch this guy.

Running as fast as he could, he lifted his axe, aiming right at it's head. He swung, burying the axe deep in it's skull. Blood sprayed over Arin, and he tugged his weapon out of the biters head, it's body slumping to the floor.

The man still sat on the side-walk, staring at Arin. They took each other in, assessing if they were any danger to each other. This guy was doe-eyed and injured and thin as a twig. He wasn't much of a threat. He couldn't even use his own weapon. Arin lowered his axe.

"Please help me," the man cried, throwing the crossbow to the side, "I'm hurt real fucking bad. It just hurts so fuckin' much, just please help me, oh g-god."

"It's okay, dude. I'm gonna help you if I can." Arin approached him, dropping to his knees and unstrapping his first aid kit from his belt. "Before I do anything, I need to know how you got hurt. If you got bit, I am killing you right here, right now." Arin emphasised the point by slowly reaching for his axe, his eyes locked with the crying man before. The man's eyes widened considerably in immediate fear of Arin, who was ready to kill him if it meant saving his own ass.

"I-it's just a c-cut. I promise it's not a bite. P-please don't kill me."

"If it's not a bite, then you're fine. My name's Arin. Arin Hanson. And you are?"

"Leigh D-daniel Av-vidan. But please just call me Dan or Danny."

"Okay then, Danny. Are you with anyone?"

"N-no, I-I've b-been alone f-for a wh-while now." Dan started at the dead biter in front of them, seeming to calm down the longer he looked at it. Arin couldn't blame him. Something was comforting about knowing even the dead couldn't hurt you anymore.

"Alright, we're gonna get you patched up and then find a place to camp out tonight. You'll get rested up and then we'll get you on your feet again. That sound good?"

"That sounds delightful," murmered Danny, his tears streaking the dirt and blood on his face. It looked like he hadn't had a wash for a while. Clumps of his poofy hair stuck to his face, caked under mud. His clothes looked pretty worn in, too. Ripped jeans, worn out running shoes and what looked like an old band tee shirt.

"Deep breaths, Arin. It's just a cut." he said to himself. He rolled up the jeans above the injury.

Arin wanted to faint just looking at it. The cut was about twenty centimeters long and it looked deep, blood and pus oozing slowly out of the wound. Arin refused to be sick, any food he had managed to find must stay down. His breathing came out in panicked shudders; he had one small first aid kit to try and save Danny's life.

"Bad, huh?" Dan looked at him softly, obviously feeling sorry for him.

"I mean," Arin huffed, "It could be way, way better. We're gonna have to drain and clean the wound, stitch you up and then uh... maybe some antibiotics and bandages?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Dan said, "Let's get started then."

Arin started working on his leg, trying to chip away the damage. He started by pouring his own precious water over the wound, which coaxed out what seemed like buckets of pus and thick, black blood. The whole thing was horrific and he wanted to run away.

"How did you get hurt, man? This is pretty bad."

"Well, I was looking for supplies and I knicked it on a peice of metal that some cruel fucker had stuck out from a fence. I needed to get back to a house to recover, but on the way the wound opened up and I had to stop cos I was bleeding so heavily. I guess the biter smelt the blood, came for me, and then I started yelling for help. You showed up, and here we are."

"And here we are," echoed Arin. "Where'd you get the crossbow? From what I saw, it looks like you've never used that thing before in your life." Conversation was proving to be a very good distraction from the gory scene that he was confronted with. He felt a bit better while he was talking.

"You're right about that. Took it off of some dead guy on the street. Looks like he didn't know how to use it, either."

After four bottles of water, Dan was laying in a puddle of his own blood and pus, but the infection seemed to be cleared out enough. There was no gunk left, at least.

Arin stitched him up, bandaged his leg, and gave his some antibiotics to fight off any bacteria. It should help. It might be enough.

"So," Dan said, "Where do we go now?" Arin helped him up, slinging his arms around Dan's fragile shoulders to stop him slipping from under his own feet.

"I didn't plan that far, if I'm completely honest. We might just have to break into one of these houses and stay there until you're fit enough to go out again."

"Okay, let's roll." Arin halfed dragged, half carried Dan to the house behind them, trying his best not to hurt Dan. Obviously Dan was in a lot of pain. He winced everytime they moved, and let pained moans slip from his lips. He needed to get to a house quick, and lay him down before the exertion knocked him out.

Arin could only think about how vulnerable they are right now. One man was wounded, completely reliant on the other, and the other man was having to carry a heavy crossbow over his shoulder, and an axe in the other. If a biter were to show up right now, they were fucked.

Clutching his stomach, Dan retched, his puke splattering over their shoes.

"We gotta move, Arin," groaned Dan, wiping the sick from his mouth with the back of his hand, "The sun's setting and if we stay here, we're gonna die and you know it."

"We can't move too fast, it'll hurt you and I don't wanna do that."

"Fuck what you want to do, Arin. Drag me across this road if that's what it takes. Dont stop, even if I'm screaming. If I pass out, fine. Fuck it. But we have got to go." Dan looked at Arin sternly, his eyes scanning his face, tears pooling in his eyes. "Please go. Don't die for this."

Arin had no way round this. Dan was just about stubborn enough to let himself be dragged, injury and all. He couldn't do that to Dan, he would be in so much pain. It was too risky.

"I'm gonna carry you. Jump up."

"You're gonna fucking carry me?" Dan laughed. "For real?"

"Yeah, for real, now come here. We've got to get inside. More of them biters are gonna come out soon. The streets are gonna be over-run by biters. You're hurt, they'll go for you first. Now please, stop fucking around and let me get you safe. I didn't drain that wound for you to die. Please, I want you to survive."

Suddenly, Arin was so scared that Dan was going to die here. He didn't know anything about this guy, but was hoping with every fibre of his being that he'd live. He'd been alone in this new world for months now, and if he lost this one stranger, maybe he'd finally go insane. Danny smiled at him weakly, colour drained from his face.

"Let's go then," Dan whispered, "I don't intend on dying today. If you think I'm in pain, just keep going. You can't stop, even if I tell you to." He lifted up his arms, and Arin scooped him up; arms under his knees and under his neck. He held him close to his chest as he walked as quickly as he could towards a small house in front of them. It was less that 15 meteres away. It couldn't be that hard, right?

Arin hadn't been more wrong in his life.

Dan was a mess, crying into his shirt, screaming in agony every step Arin took. Every move they made caused Dan's leg to move, scraping up against Arin's back and pulling the stitches painfully. Dan had told Arin to keep going, and if that's what Dan had told him to do, then he wasn't one to argue. He kept his eyes on the house, thinking that if he got Dan there then it would be okay. Everything would be okay if they were in that house.

He finally made it to the wooden door, and kicked the door open, splintering the wood and busting the lock. He charged in, taking a left into what must have been a living room, and layed Dan down as carefully as he could. Dan was in hysterics, crying and screaming and begging for the pain to stop.

"We're here, Dan. Dan, we made it. You'll be fine." The wound hadn't opened up again. He was gonna live. Arin's general fear of losing his new friend condensed into relief as he sobbed into Dan's chest, thoroughly upset by the idea he could easily lose Dan.

"You're gonna be okay," Arin cried, muffled slightly as he affectionetely rubbed his face across Dan. Kinda like a cat.

"I know Big Cat," Dan said, moving his hand to stroke Arin's long hair. "And so are you."

\----

Arin woke up, the sun shining in his eyes. He'd slept on the floor with some clean blankets he'd found in the kid's bedroom upstairs. As hard as he tried, he couldn't get too comfy in a dead child's sheets. Dan was still sleep, limbs splayed out over the sofa, his pillow nowhere to be seen under his crazy bed-head. Arin had to admit, somebody had finally outdone him in the hair department.

He layed still a while, just trying to take in the morning. That was always difficult when you can hear biters outside your window, growling and clawing fruitlessly at the glass, trying to find a way in. Or more specifically, trying to find a way to get to you and tear chunks of flesh from your body.

That thought was enough to encourage him to wake up Dan.

"Hey," Arin whispered, shaking his shoulders slightly, "Hey, wake up, asshole." Dan's eyes flew open, looking for some kind of a threat. Seeing it was just Arin he stretched, yawning.

"Morning, shithead," smiled Dan.

"You feeling any better this morning? You were so tired from yesterday you passed out while I was crying. Oh yeah, sorry about that. That couldn't have been fun."

"Nope, not really." said Dan, "But I feel much better this morning. I'm actually hungry today. I haven't been hungry like this in days. Guess I was sick or something. I still can't move my leg too much, though. I think we've just gotta work with time."

"Yep, that'll be it. Time and meds if we can spare them. I don't have much food, but I'll look around for some food in the kitchen or something."

"You sure? It's not safe to go by yourself..."

"I'll be fine," concluded Arin, "You're skinny enough as it is, if you don't eat you must just snap in half, man."

"Ah, yes," joked Dan, "The good old Jewish lankiness. I'm sure the ladies love it."

"If you weren't sick I'd beat your ass, Dan."

For the first time in months, Arin laughed.


	2. Hold On Loosely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arin and Dan leave the safe sanctuary of the house, neither of them knowing the path it will lead them down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally done with this chapter! It's taken me a while, and it's not my favourite, but it was needed to get the story moving along. I'm actually quite excited to continue writing this fic, since I have the plot figured out and I am low-key crying about it.  
> This chapter is named after 38 Special's song, as all the chapter are named after a song or lyric in my apcoalypse AU playlist!  
> Comments are always appreciated to help me keep writing!  
> Anyways, I'll stop talking and let you enjoy the chapter!  
> Thanks! :D

"ARIN! HELP ME, ARIN!" Dan screeched, "I'M IN THE LIVING ROOM, PLEASE SAVE ME, OH GOD, HELP ME!" Arin bolted down the stairs, new gun in hand, jumping three steps at a time. His heart pounded in his ear drums, and all Arin could her was vicious, hungry growling and desperate screams from his only friend. The front door was wide open.

Oh no.

He skidded around the corner to see Dan thrashing on the floor, at least eight biters ripping his intestines from his chest, stuffing red chunks of Dan's flesh into their slack mouths, not even stopping to chew. Dan was wailing, clenching his eyes tight in excruciating pain.

Arin's throat was tight, his feet rooted to the spot and his body unable to react. His friend was dying in front of him, and Arin couldn't even move. Tears ran relentlessly down his cheek, dripping off his heated face. His body was shuddering, thoughts consumed by the horror scene that he was thrown into.

How strange it was. The beautiful voice whose singing would echo around the house, who would put his mind at rest, who would comfort him and make him laugh, could sound like that.

Dan's teary eyes locked with his, breathing cut off in jagged lines.

"Kill me," he croaked.

Without a moment of hesitation, Arin switched the safety off his gun, aiming at what was left of Dan's face. With one final, sad smile, he pulled the trigger.

Just as the powerful gunshot cracked through the air, Arin woke up. He was alert, fear coursing through his veins as his gruesome dream replayed in his mind. Arin scrambled from the floor, pushing his blankets aside, desperate to be sure it was just a dream.

Arin bolted through to the kitchen, pushing the door open so violently that it hit the wall, to see a perfectly un-harmed, confused Dan sitting at the kitchen table, bony hands wrapped around a slightly dented bottle of water.

"You're okay, thank god." sighed Arin, dropping unceremoniously into the seat opposite him, his chest physically relaxing at that sight of Dan.

"Yeah, I am," confirmed a chuckling Dan, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just had a real bad fuckin dream, is all."

"I get the feeling I didn't make it through that dream."

Arin shook his head heavily, lost for any words. He couldn't exactly tell Dan he was scared shitless by the idea of Dan going like that. What made it worse, is Arin didn't even hesitate to put a bullet in his friend's skull. He just pulled the trigger, without question. Would he be able to do that in real life? If Dan told Arin to kill him, would he?

Arin didn't even have a gun.

The room fell eerily silent; without the sound of busy traffic outside or the television playing softly from another room, it never failed to unsettle him. Normally at this time in the morning, the room would be filled with soft music, maybe Suzy would be cooking breakfast, or the cats would be prowling around the house, meowing loudly until they were fed. What Arin wouldn't give to hear a jumbo jet fly overhead one more time, or his wife humming away while she milled about in the kitchen.

It had been about a week and a half since Arin saved Dan from the biter in the streets, and he was recovering. No infection had returned, but they had thought it safer to stay in the house until they could be sure that Dan was okay, fit enough to take on the end of the world. It seemed safe enough here, and it would be stupid to send him into the streets.

The one disadvantage to keeping him locked indoors was the food situation. While Dan was drifting in and out of consciousness, he was sure to stay awake enough to eat something and then fell back asleep.

Eating like that was proving to be dangerous. Arin didn't have much food anyway, and Dan was half-starved when Arin had found him. They'd found an assortment of tins hidden in a drawer upstairs, which kept them supplied with sweet peaches, tuna and spaghetti shapes for a while. The peaches had tasted like heaven, the sticky sweet juices running down their chins and the soft skin bursting between their teeth.

Dan's appetite had slowly returned while the food slowly disappeared.

Though he was glad Dan was getting back onto his feet again, no pun intended, it meant there was less and less time they could spend in this house, that offered them a brief reprise.

When Arin thought about it, it was as if they'd both been given a well-earned break from the apocalypse. In the week they'd had inside the house, neither of them had to kill a biter and they weren't scraping by or exhausted at any point. Sure, Dan was injured and stitched up, but that was a lot better than fighting for your life in the streets. If anything, Arin had started to get bored.

Getting bored was something of a luxury of these days. All day, every day, you were looking for supplies, fighting for your life, or trying to save someone's life or end it. To not have to do any of those things was quite a treat. It's always a relief when you don't have to struggle to survive.

He started to use his note-pad while Dan was sleeping through the day. He'd been lucky enough to find a pot of untouched pencils upstairs. They must've been a kid's, since it had simple math questions printed on the handle. Arin tried drawing again, though he was a little rusty. The pencil moved awkwardly around the page, as he tried to bring video game characters back to life on his page. Arin hadn't played video games for months now, and he was missing them. He tried to remember the sprites as well as he could, hoping that he'd never really lose games.

He knew this sweet relief couldn't last, though. Dan was almost healed up enough to start moving again. Maybe even within the next day or so? He could walk about the house without any aid. Arin had started to make him walk about to get his food. He wasn't an asshole, but Dan was sleeping all day, every day, and it can't be doing his leg any good. He needed to get stronger, and he could only do that by exercising.

It probably explained why Dan was sitting in front of him right now at the kitchen table, calmly sipping on a bottle of water.

They needed to make a plan, and soon. Well, better sooner than later.

"What are we gonna do, Dan?" The question came out a lot sadder than he had intended to, but if he was perfectly honest, he was kinda upset that they had to even consider this plan.

Dan shuffled in his seat uncomfortably, eye-brows furrowed in thought.

"I've been trying not to think about it," Dan muttered, "I didn't really have a plan before I met you. I was just looking for supplies and wandering about. Trying to survive, looking for new people. I guess now that I've done that, I'll stick to whatever your plan was. What were you doing?"

"The exact same as you. I was trying to find some sort of civilisation, or at least someone to survive with. I was lucky enough to find you, though."

"You sure were, buddy," Dan said, smiling widely.

"I guess we're just going to have walk about a bit, loot some houses, try finding a safe place and uh... try and make the most of it. Together." It sounded like a plan.

"We'll go tomorrow," Dan concluded, "I can walk again. I'm better rested than I have been since the beginning of this all. Why not, right? Let's just fucking do it, and kick this world's ass."

\----

The sky was a rose-coloured pink this morning, colours painted across the horizon while the sun slowly made its way up into the sky.

They were leaving today.

They had packed everything last night into Arin's backpack, including the food, water, meds, a kitchen knife, and the notepad. Arin made sure the precious book was placed carefully into a slim pocket, wanting to protect it at all costs. Dan had contributed a lighter to the supplies, and Arin slipped the pencil behind his ponytail.

Both were wide awake, silently refreshing themselves with water while preparing themselves for the day ahead. Surely today was going to be hell. Today, they were going to have adjust back to this new world, remember what it's like to survive, to fight for your life.

Arin picked up his axe. It felt weird to hold, but quite familiar. Almost like seeing an old friend. He hadn't used this thing for a while now, hopefully he wouldn't have to for a little while longer. He kept the bag of supplies on his back, and strapped his first aid kit around his belt. Clicked the buckle. Dan heaved his crossbow onto his shoulder.

It was time to go.

Without a word, they both headed to the door. There was no turning back now. It's funny. Making their way onto the streets almost felt like a new chapter. It felt like they were both starting something new, beginning the apocalypse all over again. It was particularly hopeful; with his new friend Dan by his side, it gave Arin a reason to walk these abandoned roads.

He realised just how lonely he'd been these past few months. He hadn't had a proper conversation with anyone, and almost forgot how to talk. For a while, he just talked to himself to replace the people who he once talked back and forth with. He let everyone he met so far slip through his fingers, and it hurt. He needed to be in the company of someone else rather than his memories and regrets.

Even though they walked in silence, they walked together, and that's all Arin needed.

"So," Dan said, interrupting the quiet of the world around them, "Tell me about yourself, Arin."

"What'd you mean?" asked Arin.

"Well, I've known you for a little while now, and I know nearly nothing about you. All I know about you is your name Arin, and you saved my life. That's it. So tell me about who you are."

"Uhh...." Arin wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't thought about who he is for a while now. He had almost forgotten at this point; he was so wrapped up in trying to keep himself alive.

"Okay, I'll start," began Dan, "My full name is Leigh Daniel Avidan, I'm a musician and used to write songs for this band called Skyhill, and we have one album called Run With The Hunted. God, I am so proud of that album. Yeah, that's basically me. Your turn."

Who was he?

"Uh, my name is Arin Joseph Hanson, and I'm an animator. I just did shows about video game characters, normally by making fun of them. I, uh, grew up in Florida and met my wife Suzy at an anime convention. I have no idea where she is now, and that's who I am."

Dan opened his mouth to speak, his eyes sad, when an unfamiliar, Australian voice spoke up from behind them both.

"And my name's Ross. Now, lower your weapons and try your very best not to kill me. You need me."

Both of them span around, Dan taking the crossbow of his shoulder, aiming for his head. Arin gripped the handle of his axe just a little tighter, sizing up the ashy haired, skinny boy in front of them. He had one small hand gun, and he was outnumbered, two to one. And didn't look like he could put up much of a fight.

"Why the fuck would we need you?" Dan hissed, cheek pressed against his weapon, "We've made it this far. Why would we need to rely on a twink like you?"

"Because," the boy began, "I know a place you guys can go. Be safe. There are fences, people, weapons if we need them. So as I said, you need me. Killing me would be pretty stupid of you. So put down your weapons. Look, I'll give up my gun."

He placed his gun slowly to the road, and kicked it over to them, hands raised in surrender.

Arin and Dan glanced to each other, before Arin edged forward to pick up the gun, sliding it into his belt.

"Where is this place?" Arin asked.

"About a three day journey from here, up west. It's not that far, and we need more people to man the place. I've been following you guys, since you both looked like survivors. Now, do you want to go there or not? Cos if not, then I'm wasting my time."

"Give us a minute to discuss it," said Dan, "Don't try anything stupid." Dan waved Arin over to him, taking about ten steps away from Ross until he spoke up.

"It sounds like a trap," started Dan, who was nervously swaying from left to right, "How come I've never heard of this place before? Did you know it existed? Wouldn't there be more signs around telling people where it was?"

"Dan, listen," interrupted Arin, "We said we were gonna look for people. We can't just throw away something like this. If that guy's telling the truth, we might actually be safe. C'mon, Dan. This might be our only chance." Dan sighed heavily, running his hands through his frizzy hair.

"Fine, but we have got to stay on high alert." The two of them headed back to Ross, who looked up from the floor when he heard them approaching.

"We'll come with you to this place," said Dan. Ross's expression flooded with what could only be relief, letting out a breathy sigh of happiness.

"Good," smiled Ross, "You made the right choice today, boys."


End file.
